The University of Hong Kong is trailing behind rival universities in Singapore and Tokyo, according to the latest World Reputation Rankings.

The 2013 rankings, published on Monday, ranked the University of Hong Kong 36th in the world. Despite slowly climbing up the rankings from 42nd and 39th place in 2011 and 2012, respectively, the school still trails behind the National University of Singapore at 22nd and University of Tokyo at 9th place.

The Times Higher Education magazine said the rankings, compiled by international news agency Thomson Reuters, were based on responses from around 16,300 leading academics. They were asked to nominate no more than 15 of the world’s best tertiary institutions.

The magazine’s editor Phil Baty said the status of Asian universities rose this year. “New forces in higher education are emerging, especially in the East Asian countries which are investing heavily in building world-class universities, so traditional elites must be very careful,” added Baty.

The magazine’s world university rankings, based on more comprehensive criteria, put the University of Hong Kong at 35th place, also behind the National University of Singapore at 29th and Tokyo University at 27th place.

The weekly Times Higher Educationis considered one of the world’s most authoritative sources on higher education, along with QS World University Rankings, and Academic Rankings of World Universities.